ITS World Congress—Plenty of Bright Ideas, But How to Integrate Them?
Future progress will need cooperation and coordination.
The 16th World Congress on Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), held in Stockholm in September, offered exhibitors and industry professionals a unique opportunity to see the latest and greatest innovations in transport and safety technologies from around the world. Under the theme “ITS in Daily Life”, the World Congress aimed to promote cooperative and sustainable solutions for safer, greener and smarter transport of people and goods.
The exhibition in Stockholm covered a wide range of applications and industries. Among the areas covered were traffic monitoring systems that can adjust traffic signal timing and manage congestion flow, infrastructure and sensory systems that can enable vehicle-to-vehicle-to-infrastructure communication and OEMs and advanced driver assistance systems that can promote driver safety and auto efficiency.
Perhaps one of the most interesting trends at the ITS World Congress was the apparent singularity of many of the solutions presented. While Stockholm offered a plethora of bright ideas, it seemed the majority of the solutions were created with a wider vision for integration into the greater ITS industry—but not always with much input from the systems to which it might be connected.
The integration necessary to make full use of these intelligent transportation solutions, and the fact that each system will consist of components from a number of individual contributors, requires a level of cooperation and technology sharing that the automotive sector has viewed with a skeptical eye, until recently.
Cooperative Systems
Perhaps one of the best examples from Stockholm portraying this level of cooperation is the Cooperative Vehicle-Infrastructure Systems (CVIS) project in the European Union. CVIS combines input from 60 partners, including automotive OEMs, suppliers, academic institutions and government agencies.
CVIS is developing a V2V2I communication system to help reduce the number of accidents and deaths on European roadways. Centro Ricerche FIAT, Daimler, Renault, NAVTEQ, Bosch, Siemens, Volvo and Tele Atlas all have contributed with a wide range of perspectives and areas of expertise, and that depth and variety of input has had an impact on the progress made in CVIS.
The CVIS Live! Demonstration on public roads around the Stockholmsmässen convention center provided a firsthand look at the power of the system and the fruits of cooperation. The demonstration showed several features and applications built up on the CVIS hardware platform, and several new or improved capabilities were seen live for the first time.
The CVIS team has worked hard to enable relatively seamless passing of real-time communications from infrared to cellular 3G to M5 5.9GHz Dedicated Short-Range Communications (DSRC) with higher reliability than in previous attempts. Also, applications were downloaded via 3G from a remote server in the Netherlands and installed locally in the vehicle. An example showed the test vehicle being alerted to its entry in a limited traffic zone, downloading this zone’s application and specific requirements for entry, and certifying it for access based on vehicle attributes.
Also seen for the first time was lane-specific positioning thanks to integration of EGNOS satellite data, enabling accuracy to within 1 meter and possibly providing additional support for some driver assistance systems in the future. While lane-specific positioning was subject to latency in milliseconds due to weather conditions, when combined with other applications such as wrong-way driving cautions, it presents a potentially powerful tool to improve road safety.
The CVIS team also presented its vision for CVIS 2.0 at the World Congress, which thanks to technology improvements in recent years, features hardware in significantly smaller modules. Communications processors will be contained within the antenna hardware and the in-vehicle HMI will include the applications and system processor. Previously, these components were bulky and prohibitively expensive. These improvements should help bring down production costs and make it easier to install in new and existing vehicles, both prominent obstacles encountered in the previous attempt.
Standards and Interoperability in ITS
While some projects such as CVIS did well to show high levels of cooperation and coordination between companies and across industries, many projects around the world find themselves moving at a relatively slow pace due to indecision regarding standards and interoperability. World Congress delegates tried to urge involved parties to hasten the process of standardization to remove a significant roadblock.
Because of this, the ITS industry, and by extension the evolution of automotive safety, is at something of a crossroads. Standards for interoperability are necessary so that proprietary research has direction and purpose, but the standardization process appears to be moving slowly through the various processes and testing that are required for such an important decision. Such is the nature of a bureaucratic beast.
Nearly a year ago, Europe set aside a frequency range in the 5.9GHz band for V2V applications, which is at least a step in the right direction. However, unless OEMs and suppliers have some assurance that their investment in research and development will be compatible with the rest of the industry, they likely may hesitate to invest significantly in that research and as a result, progress will stagnate.
Similarly, public institutions must be certain tax dollars are used wisely. Governments may be hesitant to name standards for fear that they will unfairly influence the free market, or that the many industries won’t agree with or that a better technology may come along. They must also consider multinational companies including OEMs and suppliers that will need to harmonize interoperability across multiple markets.
The combination of these conditions and fears is currently where the ITS and related industries stand. Everyone is hesitant to put all of their eggs into one basket, and as a result it can seem that tangible progress could simply grind to a halt.
Fortunately, the ITS industry and the push to heighten road safety also has gained momentum in recent years. This has at least provided some countermeasure against the mild depression resulting from indecision on interoperability and standards. Still, it makes one wonder how much progress could be made if the perfect standards were just selected one day and everyone was magically OK with that choice.
Conclusion
Such is the state of the ITS industry today. There are literally thousands of bright ideas, as the various auto shows and industry exhibitions have shown. But to take the next step requires a level of cooperation and coordination that is rarely seen in the automotive industry today.
On the other hand, there are examples that can help show what is possible when working together towards a common goal with the important benefit of having a group consensus on interoperability. The CVIS project spans many industries and is one of the exemplary projects for cooperative systems in the automotive sector. Similar initiatives are underway in the United States and Japan as well.
For example, both Toyota and Honda have V2X platforms using extensive 700MHz legacy infrastructure in Japan. Because of this, Japan arguably has made the most progress towards creating a live V2I system and is one of the best examples of what could transpire if just one more piece of the puzzle fell into place.
Europe, Japan and the United States have each nominated and are testing 5.8-5.9GHz frequencies for future V2X applications. This is an encouraging step toward reaching a consensus on standards and interoperability for the next generation of automotive safety systems.
If the industry can keep this momentum moving forward, continue to innovate and work together to find and combine the best of the best, the future of ITS and advanced driver assistance systems ultimately will come into clearer focus.
The 16th World Congress on Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), held in Stockholm in September, offered exhibitors and industry professionals a unique opportunity to see the latest and greatest innovations in transport and safety technologies from around the world. Under the theme “ITS in Daily Life”, the World Congress aimed to promote cooperative and sustainable solutions for safer, greener and smarter transport of people and goods.
The exhibition in Stockholm covered a wide range of applications and industries. Among the areas covered were traffic monitoring systems that can adjust traffic signal timing and manage congestion flow, infrastructure and sensory systems that can enable vehicle-to-vehicle-to-infrastructure communication and OEMs and advanced driver assistance systems that can promote driver safety and auto efficiency.
Perhaps one of the most interesting trends at the ITS World Congress was the apparent singularity of many of the solutions presented. While Stockholm offered a plethora of bright ideas, it seemed the majority of the solutions were created with a wider vision for integration into the greater ITS industry—but not always with much input from the systems to which it might be connected.
The integration necessary to make full use of these intelligent transportation solutions, and the fact that each system will consist of components from a number of individual contributors, requires a level of cooperation and technology sharing that the automotive sector has viewed with a skeptical eye, until recently.
Cooperative Systems
Perhaps one of the best examples from Stockholm portraying this level of cooperation is the Cooperative Vehicle-Infrastructure Systems (CVIS) project in the European Union. CVIS combines input from 60 partners, including automotive OEMs, suppliers, academic institutions and government agencies.
CVIS is developing a V2V2I communication system to help reduce the number of accidents and deaths on European roadways. Centro Ricerche FIAT, Daimler, Renault, NAVTEQ, Bosch, Siemens, Volvo and Tele Atlas all have contributed with a wide range of perspectives and areas of expertise, and that depth and variety of input has had an impact on the progress made in CVIS.
The CVIS Live! Demonstration on public roads around the Stockholmsmässen convention center provided a firsthand look at the power of the system and the fruits of cooperation. The demonstration showed several features and applications built up on the CVIS hardware platform, and several new or improved capabilities were seen live for the first time.
The CVIS team has worked hard to enable relatively seamless passing of real-time communications from infrared to cellular 3G to M5 5.9GHz Dedicated Short-Range Communications (DSRC) with higher reliability than in previous attempts. Also, applications were downloaded via 3G from a remote server in the Netherlands and installed locally in the vehicle. An example showed the test vehicle being alerted to its entry in a limited traffic zone, downloading this zone’s application and specific requirements for entry, and certifying it for access based on vehicle attributes.
Also seen for the first time was lane-specific positioning thanks to integration of EGNOS satellite data, enabling accuracy to within 1 meter and possibly providing additional support for some driver assistance systems in the future. While lane-specific positioning was subject to latency in milliseconds due to weather conditions, when combined with other applications such as wrong-way driving cautions, it presents a potentially powerful tool to improve road safety.
The CVIS team also presented its vision for CVIS 2.0 at the World Congress, which thanks to technology improvements in recent years, features hardware in significantly smaller modules. Communications processors will be contained within the antenna hardware and the in-vehicle HMI will include the applications and system processor. Previously, these components were bulky and prohibitively expensive. These improvements should help bring down production costs and make it easier to install in new and existing vehicles, both prominent obstacles encountered in the previous attempt.
Standards and Interoperability in ITS
While some projects such as CVIS did well to show high levels of cooperation and coordination between companies and across industries, many projects around the world find themselves moving at a relatively slow pace due to indecision regarding standards and interoperability. World Congress delegates tried to urge involved parties to hasten the process of standardization to remove a significant roadblock.
Because of this, the ITS industry, and by extension the evolution of automotive safety, is at something of a crossroads. Standards for interoperability are necessary so that proprietary research has direction and purpose, but the standardization process appears to be moving slowly through the various processes and testing that are required for such an important decision. Such is the nature of a bureaucratic beast.
Nearly a year ago, Europe set aside a frequency range in the 5.9GHz band for V2V applications, which is at least a step in the right direction. However, unless OEMs and suppliers have some assurance that their investment in research and development will be compatible with the rest of the industry, they likely may hesitate to invest significantly in that research and as a result, progress will stagnate.
Similarly, public institutions must be certain tax dollars are used wisely. Governments may be hesitant to name standards for fear that they will unfairly influence the free market, or that the many industries won’t agree with or that a better technology may come along. They must also consider multinational companies including OEMs and suppliers that will need to harmonize interoperability across multiple markets.
The combination of these conditions and fears is currently where the ITS and related industries stand. Everyone is hesitant to put all of their eggs into one basket, and as a result it can seem that tangible progress could simply grind to a halt.
Fortunately, the ITS industry and the push to heighten road safety also has gained momentum in recent years. This has at least provided some countermeasure against the mild depression resulting from indecision on interoperability and standards. Still, it makes one wonder how much progress could be made if the perfect standards were just selected one day and everyone was magically OK with that choice.
Conclusion
Such is the state of the ITS industry today. There are literally thousands of bright ideas, as the various auto shows and industry exhibitions have shown. But to take the next step requires a level of cooperation and coordination that is rarely seen in the automotive industry today.
On the other hand, there are examples that can help show what is possible when working together towards a common goal with the important benefit of having a group consensus on interoperability. The CVIS project spans many industries and is one of the exemplary projects for cooperative systems in the automotive sector. Similar initiatives are underway in the United States and Japan as well.
For example, both Toyota and Honda have V2X platforms using extensive 700MHz legacy infrastructure in Japan. Because of this, Japan arguably has made the most progress towards creating a live V2I system and is one of the best examples of what could transpire if just one more piece of the puzzle fell into place.
Europe, Japan and the United States have each nominated and are testing 5.8-5.9GHz frequencies for future V2X applications. This is an encouraging step toward reaching a consensus on standards and interoperability for the next generation of automotive safety systems.
If the industry can keep this momentum moving forward, continue to innovate and work together to find and combine the best of the best, the future of ITS and advanced driver assistance systems ultimately will come into clearer focus.
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